Chicago Bears: Marquess Wilson has early nod at No. 3 WR

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears toned it down some this weekend, working out lightly inside Soldier Field for family night on Saturday night and taking a day off on Sunday.

But it’s back to work back in Bourbonnais on Monday, which means another day of trying to win over the Bears’ coaching staff for young wide receiver Marquess Wilson.

“It’s all a battle; it’s always a battle,” the second-year Bear wideoout Wilson said. “I know this is a process, and I’m just going out every day and trying to do what I can to get in there.”

He was in there plenty on Saturday, and he’s sure to see plenty of reps come Friday night when the Bears host the Eagles in their preseason opener. He also got plenty of work during last year’s training-camp stretch, but everybody seemed to know the former Washington State star was going to need some time to transition to the NFL.

That time appears to be over.

“The indicators right now are that he’s still competing for that position,” Chicago head coach Marc Trestman said. “And he’s in the lead right now into winning it.”

Wilson is 6-foot-4, 184 pounds, similar in size to both of his mentors: Brandon Marshall (6-4, 230) and Alshon Jeffery (6-3, 216). And at times during camp — like last Tuesday, when he had a diving catch for 20-plus yards and another long TD catch in 11-on-11 drills — he has separated himself from the other potential No. 3 wideouts, like Eric Weems, Chris Williams and Josh Morgan.

Still, he only had two catches for 18 yards last year, and the very important job of taking some pressure off of Marshall and Jeffery in the big games will not be handed out freely.

“We’re still going to look closely at each and every guy and let the training camp and the preseason make that decision for us,” Trestman said. “The decision will be made on the field, there’s no doubt about it, and it will be throughout training camp and the preseason.”

Wilson will most likely be in the thick of it all the way through. There seems to be too much talent packed into that prototypical wide receiver body to waste — at least right now.

There’s no shortage of confidence hidden inside the quiet man on the field as well.

“I know I’ve got what it takes; I’ve always known,” Wilson said. “I’m not looking for anyone to give me anything. This is the NFL, I know I’m going to have to earn everything I get, and I intend to spend the next couple weeks making sure I can.”